Former NHL Star Inspires Maple Leafs Prospects

Shane Doan's story resonated with several prospects at the Toronto Maple Leafs' development camp.

Jon Alfano | Jul 8, 2024

Mar 31, 2017; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes right wing Shane Doan (19) against the Washington Capitals at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Today, Shane Doan is known as the greatest player to ever wear an Arizona Coyotes jersey, being the franchise's all-time leader in games played, points and several other key stats. That wasn't the case early on in his career, though.

The No. 7 overall pick in the 1995 draft, Doan scored less than 25 points in each of his first four NHL seasons, and even spent time in the AHL during the 1997-98 season. It wasn't until the 1999-2000 season that he truly broke out with 51 points in 81 games, and the rest is history. He retired as a franchise icon in 2017, but he would've never gotten to that point if the team didn't believe in him.

"For my first four years in the show, honestly, I wasn’t a great player," Doan wrote in a 2015 Players' Tribune article. "I mean, if you look up my point totals early on, they don’t really paint a picture of a guy that would end up having a long career in this league. I was averaging just about 15 points per season.

"But for one reason or another, this organization showed faith in me. They could have easily gotten rid of me at any point, and nobody would have had a second thought about it."

Now, the 47-year-old is a special advisor to the general manager with the Toronto Maple Leafs. At the team's development camp this week, Doan had the chance to share his story with the next generation of prospects.

"He had a great career," free agent invitee forward Quinn Hutson said, per TSN's Mark Masters. "He's telling stories about how he started off. He kind of got a late start, but he found a way for 21 years, so it's pretty cool to get a message like that from him."

The Maple Leafs had 46 players at their development camp, but only 17 of them were drafted by the team and only two of them were first-round picks. As such, many of those players will be loooking to overcome the odds like Doan did, albeit in a different way.

"I really like him as a person," 2022 seventh-round pick Brandon Lisowsky told TSN. "He didn't cut corners. I think someone like that is a good person to hear from."

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Published Jul 8, 2024

JON ALFANO